1. Field of the Invention
Perhaps one of the most disagreeable tasks in the home is the periodic cleaning of toilet bowls in bathrooms. Conventional cleaning of toilet bowls is generally manually accomplished by means of hand-held brushes of various shapes, using cleaners or disinfectants. This cleaning is absolutely essential in the home for sanitary reasons, and considerable effort is necessary with a hand brush and detergent to completely and thoroughly clean the bowl. The utility brush of this invention is designed to quickly, efficiently and automatically clean toilet bowls without the necessity of using hand-held brushes. In addition to household use, the utility brush can be used in hotels, office buildings, plants and industry, schools, and in institutions, such as hospitals and nursing homes, and in all applications by janitorial and maid services.
2. Description of the Prior Art
No known automatic devices are available on the market or in the art to effect automatic cleaning of toilet bowls, although U.S. Pat. No. 3,599,246 to Angelo Bramati, et al, discloses a water closet seat cleaning device which utilizes a chain arranged in a closed loop and a sweeper means secured to the chain to clean toilet seats.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved automatic device for cleaning toilet bowls, which device includes a motor-driven, shaped brush removably bracketed to the rim of a toilet bowl, with the brush extending into the bowl to rotatably clean the interior of the bowl.
Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved, automatic toilet bowl brush which includes a housing containing a motor and having a tapered and shaped brush rotatably mounted to the motor shaft, which housing and brush can be removably bracketed to the rim of a toilet bowl of substantially any size and shape, with the brush extending inside the bowl to automatically clean the bowl.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved rotatable brush mechanism or machine for cleaning toilet bowls which includes an electric motor enclosed within a motor housing, which motor is mounted in cooperation with a brush having a "stepped" or cone-shaped configuration to match the interior configuration of the toilet bowls, the housing being designed to removably mount on the rim of the bowls to effect quick, efficient rotatable cleaning of the interior of the toilet bowls.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a new and improved, rotatable, brush-mounted toilet bowl cleaner which includes a generally cylindrically-shaped housing having a motor mounted in the interior thereof and carrying a rotatable shaft and a brush extending downwardly of said housing and attached to the shaft, which housing is capable of being removably mounted on a toilet bowl with the brush projecting inside the bowl to rotatably clean the bowl upon activation of the motor.
Another object of the invention is to provide an automatic brush mechanism for cleaning toilet bowls, which brush mechanism is characterized by a housing, a motor and a cooperating timer for controlling trhe time of operation, the speed and/or the direction of rotation of a shaft and brush to clean the bowls.